Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan was a very powerful tropical cyclone which caused widespread damage over East India and Bangladesh. It was the strongest storm to strike the Ganges Delta since Sidr in the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season.

The Prime Minister announced this after he had an aerial survey to assess the damage caused by the cyclone in affected areas. He added that a team will be sent to survey the damage and give a detailed report. “We all want West Bengal to move ahead,” said the Prime Minister. Modi also met with Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Rescue operations have already began in West Bengal, which was hardest hit by the cyclone. The police and India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) removed debris and fallen trees along the roads and other areas. They also repaired communication lines. Flight operations also resumed at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata airport after the cyclone ravaged the area.

The regions of South Bengal were greatly affected by the cyclone, where the storm pushed the seawater, flooding cities including Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal State. Streets in Kolkata were waterlogged, houses damaged, and trees uprooted due to the heavy rains and strong winds.

“We have never seen or heard anything like it. Windows rattled, the house shook, outside trees caught fire while others collapsed. We thought we would die,” said a taxi driver in Kolkata.

The West Bengal chief minister said that the devastation caused by the cyclone was a bigger disaster than the coronavirus pandemic. Banerjee added that the state was facing a number of crises— the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of migrant workers returning home, and Cyclone Amphan.

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India along the Bay of Bengal. With over 91 million inhabitants (as of 2011), it is India’s fourth-most populous state.

The cyclone that touched down on Wednesday left more than 80 people dead and displaced thousands. According to the state government, two people died in Odisha in the Bay of Bengal, including an infant who was crushed as the mud wall of their house collapsed. At least 72 people were killed in West Bengal. At least ten people were killed in Bangladesh, including a five year old boy who was hit by a falling tree.

Authorities revealed that most of the deaths were caused by the collapse of walls, falling trees, and drowning. The cyclone made landfall Wednesday evening, packing sustained winds of up to 170 kilometers per hour, with maximum gusts of 190 kilometers per hour.

Amphan is the strongest tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since the 2007 Cyclone Sidr that occurred in the region killing more than 3,000 people. Authorities had warned that Cyclone Amphan could be worse than Cyclone Sidr. Another super cyclone hit Odisha and killed more than 9,000 people in 1999.